In data storage systems space is allocated for storing a primary set of user data. Additional storage space is allocated for providing data protection for the primary set of data. For example, data protection can include generating a backup copy of the primary data. The backup copy provides protection against data loss in the event of primary data failure.
In geographically distributed data storage systems such as “cloud” storage systems, data protection can include replication to generate copies of primary and backup data and stored independently to provide additional protection. As distributed data storage systems grow in size (e.g. hundreds of zones and clusters), the need to recover from complex failures is critical because the statistical probability of a dual, triple and n zone failures increases as the number of zones increases within a single distributed storage system. Accordingly, there is a continued need to provide efficient mechanisms for recovering data in large-scale distributed data storage systems.